
Gary Sanchez, Mason Williams rank on MLB's top prospect lists
Both Baby Bombers ranked among Top 10 prospects at their position
Catcher Gary Sanchez, who ranked No. 3 on MLB.com’s list of up-and-coming prospects, and outfielder Mason Williams, who was No. 10 among outfielders, are the previously honored prospects, and both are expected to land in upper to middle portion of the Top 100 when the full list is released.
Sanchez, 20, placed third behind recent Mets acquisition Travis d’Arnaud and Seattle’s Mike Zunino, who was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, and he was recently tabbed by Baseball America as the third-best prospect in the Yankees system.
The Dominican native, who was signed as an international free agent in 2009, split 2012 between Class-A Charleston and Advanced Class-A Tampa, posting a .297-13-56 line with 11 steals in Charleston (and earning a spot in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game) and a .279-5-29 line for the T-Yanks. Sanchez’s total of 18 homers led all Minor League catchers, and he threw out 30 percent of attempted base stealers as well.
Williams, meanwhile, was chosen by Baseball America as the Yankees’ best prospect heading into 2013, despite the fact that he missed the final third of the Minor League season with a shoulder injury.
Like Sanchez, the 21-year-old Williams, who was the Yankees’ fourth-round pick in 2010, split last season between Charleston and Tampa and was also a SAL All-Star. Williams hit .304 with eight homers, 28 RBI, 19 steals and 19 doubles for the RiverDogs, then hit .277 in 22 games with the T-Yanks before dislocating his shoulder in late-July.
Among other AL East teams, the Red Sox had four prospects place in their Top 10s: LHP Henry Owens (No. 9), C Blake Swihart (No. 9), SS Xander Bogaerts (No. 4), and OF Jackie Bradley (No. 8). The Orioles saw RHP Dylan Bundy top his list and 2B Jonathan Schoop rank No. 3 on his, while the Rays saw SS Hak-Ju Lee (No. 9) and recently-acquired OF Wil Myers (No. 2) make the lists.
Toronto did not place a prospect on the list, although d’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard, the No. 10-ranked RHP, were both recently traded to the Mets for pitcher R.A. Dickey. The Mets also placed RHP Zack wheeler (No. 4) and 3B Wilmer Flores (No. 9) on the lists as well.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroYES
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